From Single Bus to Major Operation
How Platypus Wine Tours Enhanced 20 Years of Success with Guest Focus
In 2004, Don Rickard purchased a used tour bus on eBay and started offering wine tours in Napa Valley. His previous role as general manager of Market St. Helena restaurant had shown him the demand for authentic wine country experiences. He focused on taking visitors to smaller, family-owned wineries along the valley’s back roads.
Twenty years later, Platypus Wine Tours operates with 60 employees and over 30 vehicles, conducting daily shuttle tours and private experiences throughout Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, and surrounding wine regions. Despite this success, Don recognized the need for structured guidance to continue growing effectively.
The Challenge
The transition from one-person operation to managing as many as 60 employees brought significant operational challenges. “It’s hard to sort of keep up with all the things you’re supposed to know during that growth and evolve your management skills,” Don explains.
After years of steady expansion, Don found himself needing new approaches to leadership, financial tracking, and strategic planning. The corporate market segment particularly proved challenging – despite multiple attempts, breaking into this market had been unsuccessful.
“At times I’ve been lost and it’s hard to know exactly where to go for guidance and advice,” he shares. This uncertainty was compounded by previous experiences with business consultants that had yielded limited results.
The Solution
Don approached Guest Focus after careful evaluation of available business resources. “The tricky part about getting additional support is there’s a ton of it out there,” he notes. “It’s really hard to determine what is credible and what is not, and what really applies to you. It’s amazing how many rabbit holes there are that will distract your attention.”
Guest Focus provided industry-specific support through several key channels:
- Regular sessions with accountability coach Avital
- Website and digital marketing guidance from specialist Kelsey
- Financial tracking frameworks for clear business metrics
- Strategic planning for corporate market expansion
- Regular interaction with other tour operators facing similar challenges
The program’s practical approach resonated with Don’s needs. “Guest Focus is the most effective thing that I’ve done so far in terms of getting outside advice and expertise on my business and my industry,” he shares. “The information has been really credible and relevant to what I’m looking for, especially in that I’m interacting with so many other tour operators that have a lot of the same issues.”
The Results
Working with Guest Focus led to several concrete improvements:
Don established clear key performance indicators and developed systems for his team to track them effectively. The program provided a structured approach to expanding into the corporate market – something that had previously eluded him. The website and social media presence underwent strategic optimization based on industry-specific insights.
“From Kelsey to Chad to Avital, who is my accountability coach, I’ve been thrilled with all of them,” Don notes. “I feel like any time I spend talking or listening to them is the highest and best use of my time, and I always walk away with insights that I can use to better the business and get clarity on where I’m going.”
Looking Forward
For Don, the value of Guest Focus extends beyond immediate improvements. “Having the clarity of understanding what the issues are and feeling like I’m taking all the right steps to move in the right direction—that’s got to be a positive influence on the company.”
He offers this perspective for other tour operators considering the program: “What is your time worth? What is the [risk] of heading off in the wrong direction for umpteen months before you figure out that all the things that you could have been doing during that time to move you in a direction that is better for you?”
Key Outcomes
- Improved financial tracking systems
- Clear strategy for corporate market expansion
- Enhanced digital presence
- Stronger operational processes
- Better decision-making frameworks
- Access to industry-specific expertise
The Power of Industry-Specific Guidance
Don Rickard’s experience with Guest Focus demonstrates that even highly successful tour operators can benefit from structured, industry-specific coaching. After 20 years of building Platypus Wine Tours from a single bus to a 60-person operation, Don found that the right guidance could still unlock new opportunities for growth.
His story highlights a crucial insight for tour operators: success comes not just from years of experience, but from having the right systems and strategies in place. Through Guest Focus, Don gained both the practical tools and strategic clarity needed to take his already successful business to the next level.
For tour operators of any size, Don’s message is clear: “I feel like I’ve gone down enough of those dead ends in my career that I can’t even imagine how much more successful I’d be if I had managed to avoid all of those and just headed off in the right direction from the get-go.” His experience shows that with the right guidance, it’s never too late to enhance and improve a tour business, no matter how established it may be.
“I’m so happy that I have engaged with this program,” Don concludes, “and I plan to stick with it as long as possible.”
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